


A Necklace Reveal (Almost)

by DesertSnowQueen



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Reveal, almost reveal, failed reveal, it's entertaining but also so frustrating, it's just crack, kwami talks, like they're so oblivious, oblivious children are oblivious, phone call reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 14:18:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14474496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertSnowQueen/pseuds/DesertSnowQueen
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir exchange Christmas presents, then wear said presents to school. You can imagine how well that goes.





	A Necklace Reveal (Almost)

**Author's Note:**

> I always see fics where Chat gives Ladybug a necklace and then Marinette wears it to school and that's how Adrien finds out her identity. But these kids spend most of their time together and still haven't figured it out, so why would this be any different?

Two weekends before Christmas Eve, while all of Paris slept in anticipation of the upcoming holiday, two heroes planned to meet on top of the Eiffel Tower for an early celebration, as they had agreed to take Christmas off unless there was an akuma. The one that had arrived early had black cat ears and a tail, his blonde hair and glowing green eyes the only thing visible as he waited in the shadows for his partner to join him. When said partner swung onto the platform with her magical yo-yo, she was wearing a bright red bodysuit with black spots, her blue-black hair tied in familiar pigtails. Her sky blue eyes met his with a wide smile.

“Merry Christmas, Chaton,” she said happily.

“Merry Christmas, My Lady,” he said with a smile and an exaggerated bow. Her happiness that night was contagious. Before he even fully straightened out, a black package with a green ribbon was thrust in his face, just inches from his nose. His eyes crossed as he tried to look at it.

“Open it!” she ordered excitedly. He laughed and took the present from her.

“Someone’s impawtient tonight,” he teased, laughing when she groaned half-heartedly.

“That was bad, even for you, tomcat,” she said, bouncing on her toes impatiently. He shook his head and ripped into the package.

Inside was a soft, light green scarf the same color as his eyes with a small black paw print stitched into one side of one of the ends, and neat black stitching along the edges. He wrapped it around his neck eagerly, careful not to catch any of the threads with his claw.

“It’s so soft!” he exclaimed, causing Ladybug to laugh.

“I hope so. I made it,” she said, smiling at him when he looked up at her with wide eyes. “I designed it so you would know it’s Chat Noir themed, but you could still wear it in your civilian life without drawing too much attention to yourself.”

“It’s perfect, LB, I love it! Thank you!” he said, hugging her tightly. She laughed and pushed him away gently. “I have your present here too!”

He pulled a small box in red and black spotted wrapping paper out of his pocket and handed it to her, slightly nervous. What if she didn’t like it? What if she hated it? What if it was too much? What if...?

He was so caught up in his “What if”s that he didn’t notice she had already ripped open the paper and was holding the present up in the light to see it better. She gasped in wonder.

“Chat, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, holding up the necklace with the little ladybug pendant. It was a gold Kate Spade with red enamel wings, black rhinestones, and two little white crystals for eyes. He had been tempted to ask a jeweler to replace the white crystals with small sapphires, but was worried Ladybug wouldn’t like it because it would make it more unique and possibly recognizable. Plagg had said he was being ridiculous for worrying about something like that, but he knew how Ladybug felt about her identity.

“Look at the back,” he said, smiling to hide his nerves. He had chosen to make one small modification in the form of an engraving.

“Is that a yin-yang symbol?” she asked. He nodded.

“I thought it was appurropriate. Plus, you told me you were kind of clumsy as a civilian, and that symbol is about balance, and I thought you might appreciate a reminder in your civilian life as to just how lucky and strong you are,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t realize until then how sappy it sounded. To his surprise, she squealed happily and clipped it around her neck.

“I love it! Thank you,” she said, playing with the pendant happily. He smiled at her.

“You’re welcome,” he said. They sat together and talked for another thirty minutes before the cold began to seep through their super suits and they went their separate ways.

........

The next Monday, Marinette arrived at school a few minutes before the bell rang, giving her time to talk to Alya before class. She didn’t realize she had forgotten to take her necklace off until her best friend pointed it out.

“That’s a really pretty necklace, Mari. Where’d you get it?” the reporter asked, drawing the attention of the two boys that sat in front of them. Marinette blushed under the attention.

“Oh, it was a gift. From the guy I work with,” Marinette explained.

“The guy from that traditional Chinese medicine place you work at?” Nino asked. Marinette nodded quickly.

“Yeah! We met up after work this weekend and exchanged Christmas presents, because we weren’t sure we would have a chance before the holidays,” she said. Adrien smiled.

“What a coincidence,” the model said. “I got the same necklace for a friend I work with too. I didn’t realize it was so popular. I actually gave it to her this weekend as well. She seemed to really like it.”

“Well, it came from you, and anyone would like a gift that came from you,” Marinette said, proud of herself for not stuttering.

“Thanks, Marinette,” he said, flashing her a brilliant grin. She smiled back.

“Okay, but girl, why a ladybug?” Alya asked. Marinette blushed slightly.

“Well, he knows I’m clumsy, and he said he thought I could use a little extra luck,” she said.

“Girl, it sounds like he likes you!” Alya squealed, causing her to blush even darker.

“Alya! It’s not like that!” she scolded. Her friends just laughed.

“Whatever you say,” Alya said. Marinette was about to reply when Miss Bustier walked in and called for the class’s attention.

.........

Adrien went home for lunch that day. He flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling with a smile while Plagg zipped into his stash of Camembert.

“That’s such a funny coincidence,” he said eventually, laughing a little bit. “Marinette’s necklace looks just like the one I got for Ladybug. I really didn’t realize how popular that necklace would be at this time of year, but maybe I should have expected that. She seemed to really like it, too. Hopefully Ladybug likes hers just as much.”

He looked over at the sound of Plagg choking on his Camembert with a frown.

“Plagg? Are you okay? You should really stop eating so quickly,” Adrien said. Plagg just shook his head.

“I’m fine,” the kwami said grumpily. “But don’t you think it’s weird that the reason she said her friend gave her the necklace was the same as the reason you told Ladybug?”

“Well, I mean I guess, but Marinette is kind of clumsy,” Adrien reasoned. “It’s not like there’s only one clumsy girl in Paris that needs some luck. Marinette and Ladybug are probably just really similar as civilians.”

“How similar?” Plagg pushed. The blond shrugged.

“Well, they have the same hair, and the same eyes, and they’re the same height, and they’re both really kind and apparently both really good at sewing, and I know that they’re both clumsy and need some extra luck,” Adrien said. Plagg nodded, motioning for him to continue when he paused. There was a gleam in the kwami’s green eyes that Adrien didn’t see as he looked at the scarf lying on his desk. “They’re both so amazing, and they really are similar. They would probably be best friends if they met!”

Plagg dropped out of the air, landing on the bed with a soft thud and a pained groan. Adrien turned to him with a concerned look, but Plagg just waved him off.

This boy really was clueless.

........

The day had gotten colder, so Adrien wore his new scarf to class that afternoon. To his surprise, Marinette was the first one to comment on it.

“That’s a really pretty scarf, Adrien,” she said. “It matches your eyes.”

“Thanks, Marinette! A friend I work with made it for me!” he said, smiling proudly. She grinned.

“Your friend is really talented! It actually looks a lot like the one I made for my work friend,” she said.

“Have you made a lot of scarves for him?” Adrien asked, grinning when he saw a light blush dust her cheeks. Whoever this work guy was, Mari must really like him, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

“No, not really,” she admitted. “I have made a few scarves as gifts for the people I care about, but this is the first one I made him.”

“Well I’m sure he loved it,” he assured her. She smiled.

“Thanks, Adrien.”

..........

When Marinette got home from an uneventful solo patrol that night, she picked up her sketchbook and sat on her chaise, working on the design for the last Christmas present she had to make. It was a beanie for Adrien, to match the blue scarf she had made for his birthday a few years before. Tikki sat on her shoulder, watching her work.

“So, Marinette, that scarf Adrien was wearing today was really nice, wasn’t it?” Tikki said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. Marinette hummed.

“Yeah, his friend is probably really good with that stuff. I wonder if she’s a designer or something that he models for,” Marinette mused, adding little details to her design and making notes in the margin of the page. Tikki rolled her eyes.

“It looked a lot like the one you made for Chat Noir,” she said, prompting the discussion even further.

“Well, I guess, but it’s not like I’ve cornered the market on green yarn and black stitching,” Marinette said, a teasing lilt in her tone. “His friend was probably just trying to match his eyes. Which I was trying to do with Chat...”

“That’s true,” Tikki said, waiting for Marinette to continue speaking.

“You know, Tikki, Chat and Adrien actually are pretty similar,” she said after a while. Tikki smiled. “I mean, Adrien definitely isn’t as big of a flirt as Chat is, and Adrien doesn't use quite as many puns, but they have the same hair color, and the same eye color, and the same build, and they like video games and their sense of humor is really similar...I know Chat would get along with Nino as well as Adrien does, but now that I think about it, Adrien and Chat would probably get along really well too if they ever met.”

Tikki’s smile faded and she all but fell of Marinette’s shoulder when the girl stood up to go to bed.

How could she possibly not have recognized the scarf that she made?

Tikki waited until she was sure Marinette was asleep and flew over to the girl’s phone. She unlocked it and pressed Adrien’s contact number, putting the phone on speaker as it dialed the number. After a couple of rings, Adrien’s voice answered.

“Marinette? What miraculous reason do you have for being awake at this hour?”

“The same destructive reason as you, I’m sure,” Tikki said, changing her voice to sound like Marinette’s. A dramatic sigh sounded through the phone’s speakers.

“They’re so oblivious, Teek! This is getting ridiculous!” Plagg complained. “Today, Adrien went on and on and on about how similar Marinette and Ladybug were, which was prompted by him noticing she was wearing the necklace he gave her, and you know what conclusion he came to? That they would be best friends if they ever met!”

“She’s worse, Plagg, trust me,” Tikki said, shaking her head in exasperation. “She didn’t recognize the scarf that she spent a week making! A week, Plagg! I don’t know how she missed it! It’s not even because she thinks they’re too different, because she said they were really similar. I don’t get it!”

“Master Fu must be punishing us for something, Tikki. We’ve never had a Bug and Cat combo that have been this clueless. Can we just tell them?” he begged. Tikki sighed.

“Plagg, you know we can’t,” she said. “I agree, this is painful. But you know it’s always better if they figure it out themselves.”

“But can’t we just, I don’t know, drop the transformation while they’re on patrol or something? Come on! It’ll be like ripping off a bandaid,” he reasoned. Tikki was about to respond when she heard the rustle of two different sets of blankets, before two teenage voices called out in unison:

“Tikki? Are you talking to someone?”

“Plagg? Are you on the phone?”

Tikki winced as she turned around slowly, blue meeting blue as they stared at each other. It was quiet for a minute, before Plagg’s voice could be heard over the phone.

“I’m talking to Ladybug’s kwami, Tikki,” he said quickly. Marinette’s eyes widened.

“That’s Chat’s kwami?” she asked, climbing down off her bed.

“Ladybug?” Chat’s voice called, thick with sleep and confusion and nerves.

“Um, hi, Chat,” Marinette said hesitantly, looking at Tikki with fear in her eyes.

“Hi,” her partner said lamely. There was a moment of tense silence.

“Merry Christmas!” the kwamis yelled in unison before darting away, leaving the heroes to call after them in frustration.

“I won’t look at the name,” Chat said eventually. Marinette sighed.

“But we’ll still have the call log in our phones, and now we know that we know each other outside of the masks,” she reasoned. It was quiet for several moments while they tried to decide what to do.

“I’m Marinette,” she said finally. He didn’t answer right away. “That’s why I couldn’t be there during the fight against the Evillustrator. I like to think we’re still friends when I’m not wearing the mask.”

“We’re definitely friends outside of the mask, Marinette,” he said, and she could hear his smile. “I’m Adrien.”

“I’m an idiot,” she said eventually, slapping her hand over her eyes. “I MADE that scarf you were wearing today! I worked on that scarf for a week! How could I not have realized?”

“I’m worse, honestly,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been talking to Plagg about both Marinette and Ladybug this whole time, and today I practically said you were the same person and still didn’t figure it out. I just thought you and Ladybug would be besties or something if you ever met.”

“What a pair we are,” she said, causing them both to start laughing at their ridiculousness.

“So, Princess,” he said when they finally calmed down. “Would you like to come over and play video games after school tomorrow?”

“Only if you’re ready to lose, Kitty,” she teased. He let out a delighted laugh.

"You're on, Bugaboo."


End file.
